Ink jet printers are a popular form of printer used with computers and similar applications involving document printing or graphics preparation. Typical ink jet printers, such as those manufactured by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Hewlett Packard, have replaceable ink jet cartridges with built-in print heads. In alternative configurations, ink jet printers utilize replaceable ink storage reservoirs to provide a volume of ink to a print head for dispensing upon an object, such as paper, cardboard, planar media, and the like.
Inkjet print heads utilize very fine nozzles for projecting ink from an ink reservoir onto a printable substrate, such as a sheet of paper. The greater the print density, the finer or smaller the size of the nozzle apertures. The nozzles are designed for an ink having a specific base composition. The printer is configured to print the selected ink having the specific base composition.
Printers are configured to print using one or a series of ink colors, wherein the one or a series of ink colors are based upon one (1) specific base composition, with the only primary distinction being the color. In one configuration, the printer can be configured to print a single color, which is most commonly black. In a more common configuration, the printer is configured to print black and color images, wherein the majority of printers are configured to print using a series of colored ink including: Black ink, Magenta ink, Cyan ink, and Yellow ink.
The currently available printing system configurations are limited to printing using ink having a single base composition. This requires that a printing facility procure and maintain multiple printers, one for printing each specific ink composition. This requirement incurs significantly higher asset investments as well as high real estate requirements and associated costs. In an alternative, the user would have to replace the currently installed ink supply and dispensing components used for storing and designed to dispense ink from a first base composition to an ink supply and dispensing components used for storing and designed to dispense ink from a second base composition. This solution impacts cycle time, equipment downtime for replacement of the ink reservoirs and/or print heads, cleaning of the equipment, and the like.
This process is complicated further when the printing process requires depositing or printing ink from two different base compositions. In this scenario, the printing process must include a step of registering the indicia initially printed using the first composition based ink prior to printing or depositing the second composition based ink. The registration process introduces a time limitation, an equipment capability limitation, and an increased risk of misprinted final material.
Thus, there presently exists a need for providing ink having a minimized size and volume of particulate matter and minimizing entrapped air prior to and/or during an ink cartridge filling process.